Entering Eternity
by aethersprite
Summary: The fate of the Earth lies in the hands of two very special people, they can choose to destroy Earth or save it. Will they or will they not? The race is on to determine the fate of humanity and all things blessed to Earth.
1. Jealousy

Entering Eternity

Time: 12 yrs post Xiaolang's leaving according to the manga, go figure

Disclaimer: CCS will never ever belong to me as much as I dream of it. 

I'm a fairly new author to the world of fanfictions and I aim to write to please myself and not the readers so if my writing or plots offend any of you, I can only apologise and ask you to bear with me. Feedbacks are more than welcome; I'm open for comments. 

Chapter one: The beginning of it all

Warm sunlight streaked past the curtains flapping aimlessly around the window. A gentle yet mischievous breeze played with anything it could lay its hands on. Birds chirped cheerfully outside the window welcoming the beginning of a new spring day. The overwhelming yet somehow aromatic scent of fresh flowers just newly in bloom wafted through the curtains and filled the room.

The room. 

It was tastefully decorated in different shades of green, emerald green, leaf green, sea green... you name it and you will find it in here. They blended in gracefully with each other giving the room a rather warm presence. The room was messed up by the piles of worksheets and notes left scattered around the room after their owners decided to disband their studies and instead surrender to the sweet temptations of sleep. In the middle of the room, the only spot not messed up was the huge and elegant king sized bed with canopies touching the ceiling. 

The finely chiseled head poking out of the sheets sleepily turned itself towards the window. The light reflected off his fine cheekbones, creating a spectacular portrait of the said head to anyone who would have the privilege of being in the room and witnessing the exquisite features sculptured onto the head. The man's eyes slowly and reluctantly opened his amber eyes filled with the passion for life to take in the morning sights of his room and cursed silently under his breath something to do with the phregging sun and how it hurt his eyes. He turned away from the light and glanced at the clock standing on the bedside table and groaned wearily. A woman's head appeared from beneath the jade green covers smiling sweetly to her bedfellow. Her eyes were set off to the right shade of green, with the similar passion for life reflected in them. She grinned mischievously while asking, " What's the matter Xiaolang?"

"You know perfectly well what's the matter," grumbled Xiaolang. "Its Monday morning that equals to another annoying school day which equals to torture around Eriol and Tomoyo." He ran his hand through his heavily tousled hair in annoyance and sighed, "Well, good morning to you too dear."

"My, my, somebody really doesn't like his blood relations too much does he?" replied the woman in mock surprise. "Good morning to you too Mr. Grumpy," as she gave him a silent peck on the cheek, "We had better get ready for school, don't want to be late again do we?"

"You mean **YOU **don't want to be late again," laughed Xiaolang as she smacked him playfully on the chest, "Although I am nearly dying of shock that you could drag your pretty little ass out of bed so early in the morning Sakura. I must have died during my sleep or else I'm still in lala land." He yawned and stretched as he prepared for school.

"You know what? I think you are hanging around onii-chan too much. He is starting to rub off on you. Well, you had better get a move for the bathroom before this pretty little ass gets it before you."

All this, which was once considered impossible by both parties, had now become a regular morning routine and part of their everyday life. Sakura leapt out of bed and made a pose as though she was running for the bathroom. Xiaolang got up hurriedly and dashed to the bathroom first. He knew what would happen if she got there first, he would have to dream of using the toilet until many eons later. Sakura grinned to herself and started on the seemingly impossible task of making the king sized bed.

The minute Xiaolang closed the bathroom door behind him, his whole facade changed. His legs seemed unable to support him; grief and despair tore through him like a million knives. He sank to the floor feeling helpless, the memory of his father's death still haunted him after all these years. He knew that there had to be some explanation to why these nightmares were suddenly plaguing him again. He grimaced and shook his head violently to clear his mind of all thoughts of the nightmare.

Sakura's head jerked up suddenly from where she was picking up all the pieces of paper on the floor. Despair, grief, anger flowed through to her from Xiaolang. There was nothing he felt that could be concealed from her unless he wanted her to not know and vice versa. They shared a special bond made stronger by their immense love for each other, no one else could intrude on their bond, and no one else shared the bond they had. It was their final linkage to each other. Sakura shook her head, wondering how she could have sensed such emotions; even through Xiaolang she knew it could not be, for he was always happy now. Wasn't he?

_Are you alright?_ She thought. Concerned filled her side of the bond. 

_Yeah, I'm fine_, he replied, sending waves of reassurances to her and hiding his nightmarish visions or whatever they were behind an impeccable mental shield that no one could break.

_You had better hurry up if you don't want to be late Sakura._

__

_Well, I would hurry up if it wasn't for a certain vain man hogging the bathroom desperately trying to tame his untamable hair. Take my advice and leave it alone. It's hopeless to fight with it. You'll only get more teeth stuck in it._

__

_Oops, _thought Xiaolang sheepishly, _well sorry, you do know how hard it is to comb my hair._

__

He came out of the bathroom door looking rather guilty and jerked his head towards the clock in an action that would have made many women swoon. 

"School starts in about an hours time. Care to speed up milady?" He asked sarcastically.

"Well, my _handsome _prince, I will be changed and down in five. So lets say you go down first and prepare us some scrumptious and filling breakfast?"

Xiaolang grudgingly agreed to her terms. _Down in five?_ He thought, _where had I heard that before?_

__

He closed the door behind him as musical girlish giggles filled his mind while he went down the stairs to tell the cook to prepare breakfast in preparation for the upcoming day of torture in school.

Alone in the kitchen while waiting for Sakura and breakfast, he carefully enforced his mental shielding, ensuring that it was strong enough to keep Sakura from knowing what he was thinking about yet weak enough for them to communicate should the need arise. He allowed his thoughts to wander all over the place as he drooled over the oncoming golden-brown pancakes with honey syrup and orange juice, Sakura's favourite breakfast. It never failed to lift her spirits up even when the day faced was predicted to be stormy and gloomy. 

Xiaolang's thoughts finally landed on the nightmares or visions that he had been having the past few weeks that were echoes of his fearful past. He had never failed to wake up in cold sweat in the middle of the night every time he dreamt that nightmare. Sometimes he would even wake up screaming bloody murder. The one he had the last night was quite mild compared to the more violent ones he had over the years. His nerves were only sedated at the sight of **HIS** Sakura lying dead to the world but always ready to defend herself should the need arise. He had scooted closer to her and the smell of her comforting scent and the feeling of their auras' dancing around them mixing together had soothed him like they always do. He had felt like he was in paradise or close to it at least. However, now he felt very troubled, worried over what the sudden surge in his nightmares might mean. The future clan leader does not have dreams without meanings. Although Sakura was more powerful in dreams of prophecy and visions, he felt, he knew that these dreams were targeted towards him and only he was meant to receive it. He knew, knew that it was possible that his father may his soul rest in peace, was somehow trying to communicate with him. But how and why he did not know, he did not even know if it WAS his father trying to tell him something. He banged his forehead with the back of his hand in frustration.

He suddenly felt concern from Sakura, realising that his mental shields were still up, and had been for quite long, Xiaolang quickly lifted up his shields and told her, _Nothing is wrong, don't worry about me._

__

"Are you sure? It's very unlike you to be preoccupied with something else than the present. Is there anything that you want to share with me? Does this recent state of losing consciousness have anything to do with the nightmares you have been having almost every night? Do I have to force you to tell me everything or are you going to tell me voluntarily?" 

"Oooooo, I'm so scared," he taunted," Try me."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Sakura leaned over and quickly located her target. His one weakness, his ticklish spot. Mercilessly she tickled him until both youths were on the floor rolling about trying to evade each other's attacks. Finally he caught her disadvantaged and grabbing hold of her wrists in a grasp tight enough to ensure that she would not be able to escape yet loose enough to not cause any harm to her, he leaned over and asked, "Give up yet?"

She stopped struggling for a moment and replied with a grin that reeked of slyness, "Never." As fast as lightning, she had him flipped over and straddled him on his tummy. " Now I've got you," she crowed triumphantly.

Xiaolang surrendered to her, he knew, they both knew what would happen if their "fight" continued. Sakura leaned in closer to him until their noses were almost touching, whispering huskily, "Are you ready to tell me what is bothering you now?"

He looked up at her sparkling jade green eyes and smiled genuinely, a smile full of true love, "I will tell you later and you know I could never keep anything from you. For now, we had better focus on school."

_Damn, is she breathtaking_, he thought. _I know, _came the candid reply. Xiaolang smirked before kissing her lightly on the lips. Pulling both of them up, he motioned for her to sit down and eat quickly. They were going to be late soon if they did not hurry up.

5 minutes, a gorged breakfast and much confusions later, both of them were ready to go to the university. Being rich meant that they did not have the need to live on campus as Xiaolang had easily obtained a bungalow close enough the university to accommodate them. However, they were usually late for school. Sakura had begged and pleaded but Xiaolang had remained adamant, she was not allowed to use the cards except in real emergencies, it was not deemed fit that she should waste her energy using the cards in trivial matters. Nothing that she had done short of threatening to blow up the house could move him to change his stubborn mind. He remained firm in his decision on this matter.

_Time check, 10 more minutes till lecture starts_, he thought, _better make like the wind and dash fast. Race you there_. With that, he speeded off, his fast pace enhanced by his many years of training and magical powers, leaving in his wake a trail of dust. Sakura was momentarily stunned but within a nanosecond she pulled herself together and raced off after him. 

_You lousy cheating bastard, just for that you are so going to suffer tonight_, Sakura though indignantly.

_Hey, it wasn't my fault that you weren't paying much attention._ Xiaolang laughed it off as they raced to school, their competitive spirits refusing to lose to the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. Despair

Entering Eternity

Time: 12 yrs post Xiaolang's leaving according to the manga, go figure

Disclaimer: CCS will never ever belong to me as much as I dream of it. Neither does the concept 

of a tesseract.

All answers regarding the story will be answered in due time. It is after all my fic and some parts of the story should not be disclosed to protect the suspense of the story ;). As to the age issue, they are 22 (count properly ppl) and are in university. Japan's education system consists of 6 years in elementary school, 3 years in junior high school and another 3 years in senior high school. That means by the time they finish senior high school, they will be 18. Then they go on to spend 4 years in university that means they are all in their last year at the university.

Tesseration is a concept taken from Madeline L'Engle's Science Fiction/ fantasy time quartet. It is basically moving in the fifth dimension, taking a wrinkle in both time and space. 

I hope that it is not too confusing and yeah, as usual, feedbacks are strongly welcome. 

Chapter 2: Jealousy

Nadeshiko smiled to herself. Her daughter had finally found true happiness with Xiaolang. Although she knew that Sakura did not have the power to see her, she did know that Sakura had an uncanny way of feeling her aura whenever she was around. She smiled peacefully and sighed as though to release whatever built-up stress she had inside of her.

A soft, airy voice spoke, at the same time giving the listener the impression that the owner had strength and determination, " What's the matter?"

Nadeshiko turned around slowly, chuckling mischievously. " I was wondering how long you were going to shadow me and the children without letting anyone know. What made you change your mind so fast? If I knew you well enough, you would have probably carried on this charade forever without informing us, Li Weilong."

Nadeshiko found herself unwillingly drawn into the immense depths of the intense gaze of her first love. Li Weilong would always claim her love, the mighty ex-clan leader and the proud father of 4 healthy adult girls and Li Xiaolang. Yes, Fujitaka was only a "replacement" for the love that Weilong had never fully given her, yet Fujitaka had somehow won her love over the years to the point that she FELT that Weilong mattered no more to her. Until this day, where she had confronted him for the first time in 19 years, she realised that she had been living a life of lies, she had lied to herself that Weilong mattered no more to her, she had lied to Fujitaka that he was the only man that she had ever loved, she had lied to Sonomi, to everyone who had ever known her.

Weilong's dark chocolate eye's danced with merriment and at the same time betrayed whatever sorrow he felt inside.

"It's nice to see you again Nade, I have my own reasons for not showing myself. Don't you think that our children look so happy together?" 

" Yes. I'm glad that they had finally gotten married. In some ways, I feel that they are righting the wrongs we did. They are like the replicas of what we were before. Before all that happened." Nadeshiko involuntarily gave a slight shudder at the thought of the incident that had changed her life forever. 

Weilong thought he had heard a sign of resentment in her voice, the longing for the old days. He brushed it off as his own imagination wishing for her to sound so reminiscence. He had also noted the slight shudder that Nadeshiko had given; nothing had ever escaped him. He reached out comfortingly and touched her arm briefly and lightly. 

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is because of that incident that is why I am here now. Nade, it is not over yet. It will never be over until the prophecy is fulfilled and that monster destroyed."

His voice dropped dangerously to a whisper that was just barely audible over the wind.

"We must contact the reincarnations of Clow immediately. They will know how to help in the matter."

"You mean my husband and Tomoyo-chan's husband." 

Weilong nearly frowned at her statement; his hatred for her husband was quite evident yet he managed to keep it discreet from Nadeshiko. It would hurt her deeply if she had found out about his imaginary rivalry with Fujitaka. 

_Remember that you are also married and it was your own stupid fault that the both of you had broken up._

He sighed heavily, desperation filling him up. 

"Yes the two of them. You shall contact your husband and I will contact Hiiragizawa-san. We shall meet at your house later. Remember that the mission is highly important and is a matter of life or death. Sakura and Xiaolang must not know about this for now until we can figure out what to do, they are key players in this mission."

With that order, he disappeared from sight to round up Eriol before he left for school. Nadeshiko allowed herself one longing glance at the spot where he had just stood on and quickly became serious, burying all her compassion for Weilong. She then quickly tessered to her buttercup-yellow house.

She appeared just before Fujitaka left home. Touya had since left home to house with Yukito and did occasionally return home to visit his father and sister. 

"Nade! It is such a surprise to see you. It's been a long time since we last met. It's really great to see you again. Is anything wrong? I mean you just suddenly show up to me and you look so serious. What is wrong?"

"My dear husband, it has been such a long time indeed. So many things have happened. I am sure that you are aware of the growing evil aura in Japan. Weilong and I have come back to inform you and Eriol about that matter. It is more serious than anyone could have imagined. Please, stay here with me. We need to talk to you, for the future of Japan, the world and for Sakura and Xiaolang. Only Eriol and you can help them. They must not know of this matter yet until we can figure out a satisfactory solution."

Nadeshiko gently caressed her husband's face. It pained her greatly to see him like with worry and anxiousness etched all over his face but there was nothing she could do. It was fate that decided the end result of this matter. She noted absently that he was looking very tired and there were a few wisps of grey hair peeking out at the sides of his chestnut brown hair. 

Fujitaka sighed dejectedly. He knew that this day would come sooner or later, a day when he had to meet his wife's ex-love. No, he chastised himself, her TRUE love, he added sarcastically. 

He was not jealous, he was not jealous, he was not jealous. He repeated that like a mantra over and over again inside his head. Why should he be jealous? Nadeshiko loved him as much as she loved Weilong if not more. But if that was so, then why was he suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of anger? Why was there a tightening feeling in his chest? Why did he feel that Weilong was an enemy and not an ally?

Jealousy.

Jealousy, that one word was the simple answer to all his questions. Jealousy and the knowledge of the fact that he can never replace Weilong in Nadeshiko's heart. He had known all along, ever since he first met her that she had another love already. He had known since that day when an angel fell on him, that HE could never replace Weilong. Yet he had kept up his cheerful facade day by day when he felt his heart being consumed away bit by bit for the whole world to know that HE did not mind playing second fiddle to another man. 

Some people may say that he is stupid to act that way and allow Nade to make a gigolo out of him, others may applaud his bravery and responsibility to face facts and accept the world the way it is. Yet, he did not want any of these comments, he did not care for them at all. All that he wanted and required was her love. He wished that it were so, that all he needed was a tiny part of her love. He was selfish he admitted. He did not only want her love, he wanted to be her only love.

Fujitaka quickly pushed these sinning thoughts away and hid them well deep inside his heart where no one could penetrate. He turned his thoughts to those of the Kinomoto Fujitaka whom everyone knows and love, the Kinomoto Fujitaka who does not get jealous so easily. He nodded determinedly to Nade and went back into the house with her to await the arrival of the members of their council, Eriol and THAT MAN.

Li Weilong took great care to take a time tesser as well as a space tesser, arriving just nice when Eriol was alone in his bedroom just after Tomoyo had left to prepare the breakfast.

"Good morning Hiiragizawa-san, or should I say Clow Reed's half reincarnation?"

Eriol turned around calmly with no hint of fright showing in his stature. 

"I think you may call me Eriol. I am no longer Clow and a good morning to you too Li-san. What honor do I have to have you visit me so early in the morning?"

"Weilong please. The honor is all mine Eriol-san. I have important business to talk to you with you and Kinomoto-san. We must meet him at his house – along with Nade."

The short conversation was excruciatingly, painfully polite, both men had a fixed smile on the lips that suggested otherwise that they did not wish to be having a conversation at all. 

Eriol narrowed his eyes at the mention of Nadeshiko's name; he could hear Weilong's feelings for her by the way he had murmured her name. He nodded once to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and merely said that he needed to write a note to Tomoyo to inform her where he was going.

After placing the note in a position that should be easy to spot, Eriol turned around to look directly into Weilong's eyes that had been focusing on one spot the whole time he had been writing the note. Eriol absently noted that Weilong had not moved a single inch since his arrival. With a brief nod, both of them had tessered immediately to the peaceful road outside the calm looking house.

Fujitaka had left Nadeshiko alone in the living room whilst he prepared tea for their "visitors". He could hear her walking around the room straightening things out and chuckling at pictures strewn everywhere. Just as the kettle started to whistle indicating that the water was boiling, he sensed that Eriol and THAT MAN had arrived. He heard Nadeshiko asking them to make themselves comfortable while he got the tea ready.

_Hah, _ he thought, _ Li Weilong, you had better not make yourself too comfortable with MY wife. _

Allowing the fire of jealousy to infiltrate and consume him slowly, he was not aware that Eriol could sense his feelings. He looked up in pity, eyes full of compassion at Fujitaka when he entered, the cheerful smile as usual plastered on his face, the smile that Sonomi had always hated, precariously balancing the tray of teacups and teapot in his hands.

_My poor brother, I hope that your suffering will reduce before the greatest danger begins. It was unfortunate that it was fated to be for you, Nadeshiko, Weilong and Yelan to be stuck in this tangled web of love. _

His eyes followed Fujitaka's every move and greatly admired the man who still could smile so cheerfully while his heart was being torn into two by Nadeshiko and Weilong laughing and smiling together. Deep inside his heart, Eriol cursed Nadeshiko for being so heartless and oblivious to the pain that she was causing Fujitaka. 

_If only... Only what?_ He thought to himself spitefully, berating himself for succumbing to such immature thoughts. _You know well enough that the past cannot be altered and the future is set. Nothing can change that, only the prophesied two have the power to overcome the evil and set the course for humanity._

"...Eriol-san? Are you fine?" Nadeshiko's worried voice knocked him out of his reverie. Eriol looked around and found three pairs of watchful eyes staring at him wondering what could have caused the stately magician to blank out like that suddenly.

With as much dignity as he could muster and trying to control the spite in his voice, he answered deliberately changing the subject, " Oh yes, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. Where were we? And why did the two of you come to find us?" 

Nadeshiko and Weilong shared a brief glance at each other before focusing on Eriol and Fujitaka. Both men stared back at them curiously, confused at their present situation.

" Well you see, the situation is like this, as far as we know, there is evil brewing up in Japan. The man or monster who once tried to release the evil has returned again and is bidding his time until his powers and followers have grown then he will strike to destroy humanity. We have no idea how he plans to go about it, why he wants to do it and when he is going to strike. What we do know is that he will attack Japan, where his powers seem to stem from. All these we have gathered from past observations and assumptions. So it may not entirely be true. As both Weilong and I are not able to participate in this fight, it is naturally left to our children. We have concluded that Xiaolang and Sakura are important figures in that man's plan to destroy humanity. As we are unable to be there by them always, we entrust this task to both of you to handle, to protect them and make sure you know of every move they make. However, we can contact them through their dreams to guide them regularly. You must take good care of them, we cannot afford to lose them so early on in the fight."

Nadeshiko paused a moment to catch her breath and allow the revelation to sink in.

Both men were looking thoughtful, having made up their mind to get to the bottom of the matter and readily accepting the task entrusted to them, to act as extra guardians of the couple.

" So what do you actually propose we do to protect both of them?" Fujitaka asked, always calm. Nothing could ever ruffle his feathers.

" That is the purpose of our visit today. For now, just following their every move would suffice. He will not dare to launch an attack so early on when his powers are still a mere fraction of his greatness. Even if he does attack, Xiaolang and Sakura should be strong enough to evade him. I suggest that the guardians be reawakened and sent back to their posts with extra vigilance around them. Eriol-san, as their close friend, you should have the extra advantage of monitoring them, they should never be separated, their powers are heightened when they are around each other. Kinomoto-san, Eriol-san, the both of you must find an appropriate time to inform them. It is best not to drag it out too long, they have the right to know and they MUST know. I suggest you tell them tomorrow night so that leaves us with today and tomorrow to come up with a plan."

Fujitaka and Eriol nodded gravely, aware of the heavy responsibilities given to them. The four people holed up inside the sunny living room of the house further continued to discuss and plan their strategy for overthrowing the evil once and for all.

Outside the house life carried on as usual, the birds chirped musically to their usual tunes, people walked at their normal pace enjoying the sensations that spring stirred inside them unaware of the evil that is rising, unaware of the price they were being forced to pay.


	3. Confrontations

Entering Eternity

Time: 12 yrs post Xiaolang's leaving according to the manga, go figure 

Disclaimer: CCS will never ever belong to me as much as I dream of it.    

I am fully aware that I am not a great writer but hey, knowing that at least one person is reading your story is comforting enough. :D Hopefully, more readers will be attracted. Haha, right, on to the story and thanks to JediClare for helping me beta the story, I am astounded that my English could be so lousy... 

Chapter three: Confrontations

The late bell clanged rudely at all latecomers, warning them that classes had already started. Sakura and Xiaolang had long since beaten the bell by sprinting all the way to school. Xiaolang was naturally the winner, given his head start and his "failure to inform" Sakura, as she so kindly termed it.

They had both strolled hand-in-hand to their favourite seats at the back of the lecture room. As they waited for the arrival of their professor, they greeted the classmates who, not giving a damn that the bell had already sounded, were still sauntering into the room.

Suddenly, the door banged wide open and a pack of girls entered the theatre giggling loudly and uncouthly, attracting the attention of all the students in the room who were busy preparing for the lecture. They were wearing loud harsh colours with pink being the dominant colour and shades, even though the room was not glaringly bright. Their hair had been bleached and dyed so many times that most of them had weird streaks of colours popping up from beneath the wild mess of curls dyed in the different shades of the rainbow which they apparently thought made them look "cool". 

Sakura tried hard to stifle her giggle at their new look. Instead of looking "cool", all they had achieved with their new hair job was to look like clowns with their rainbow-coloured hair and garish make-up. She caught the eye of the leader of the girl-pack, a rather overwhelmingly over-confident woman who always got on her nerves with the way she flirted shamelessly with just about everyone. 

Louella had always insisted that she was a pure Caucasian but there were just those subtle clues that she had unknowingly dropped to suggest otherwise. Even though she had been born outside Japan, she still had Japanese blood in her. Her natural hair colour had been black from elementary school but years of bleaching had finally allowed her to achieve the ideal hair colouring that she had longed for many years.

She had always lusted after Xiaolang and did not bother to keep it a secret that she was eyeing a married man. Everyone but Sakura and company on campus was used to her flirtatious ways and did not bother to take much notice of her or rather they had learned to tune out her high-pitched voice with the much-affected accent.

Louella made direct eye contact with Sakura, challenging her, daring her to fight over Xiaolang. Sakura calmly received the unimportant challenge and dismissed it with a toss of her head. But Louella was not so easily intimidated. She had tried for many years to get Xiaolang and she was not going to admit defeat to a pathetic little loser who claimed to be his wife with just the signing of a few papers. Sensing that she no longer had the class' and Sakura's attention, Louella flicked her hair behind her shoulders in what she considered to be a sexy move and sashayed over to the row directly in front of the professor's table. She made herself comfortable on the seat right smack in the middle of the row and carried on with the loud and raucous conversation with her endless stream of followers, punctuated frequently by their trademark giggling. 

Sakura sighed inwardly; she had always detested those kinds of confrontations with Louella. It had always seem that just when she was on the verge of blowing up, Louella would back down immediately though not without dissatisfaction showing in her eyes which were a pale icy blue, the effects of contact lenses. It made Sakura feel so weak and useless to defend herself and her family. She did not want to bear the pain of losing a loved one anymore. She moved unconsciously towards Xiaolang for warmth and comfort, but when she did not receive any, she became aware that something was wrong with him. His eyes were half glazed over, his head was held rigidly at an awkward angle and his hands were pressed painfully hard on the armrests of the chair, with a vice-like grip on the handles.

_Xiaolang?_ She called out desperately through their bond, only to find it painfully blocked on his side. Sakura started to panic terribly; he had never drifted away like that or even shielded his mind so strongly that she recoiled from the impact of trying to break through. She lifted her hand up high and brought it down with a resounding slap on his cheek that echoed around the room. People dropped what ever they were doing and turned around to stare at them. Louella had a triumphant grin on her face as though Sakura and Xiaolang had just fought. 

Sakura looked around sheepishly, holding Xiaolang, who had woken up from his reverie, close to her. She grinned apologetically, murmuring a lame excuse about a fly landing on his face. All the drama stirred up by the slap dissipated in a moment and soon the room returned to its usual noiselessness of pages flipping wildly.

_Xiaolang are you fine? Why did you suddenly blank out like that?_ Her eyes full of fear were scanning his face frantically, trying to look for signs that would betray his condition. 

_I'm fine really. I just got too caught up in my own thoughts. You don't have to worry about me 24/7._

Sakura looked at him sceptically and decided to accept that lame excuse for the time being. She did not want to make another commotion in the class and risk the attention.

_Thank goodness Tomoyo and Eriol are not in our class. Who knows what they might have thought of that slap, or yet another confrontation with Louella._

Xiaolang chuckled at that thought. It had taken him many years of persuasion, many talks and much evidence that Tomoyo and Eriol were indeed in cahoots to embarrass them at any chance they could get and in their own words, "foster a stronger bond between the both of you."

_Bah. Strong bond my foot. Our bond is stronger than they realise._

He felt Sakura admonish him gently for thinking that way about her "uncle" and best friend.

_Okay, so maybe I just need to persuade you a little bit more to get you to see my point that both of them are evil._

Xiaolang was saved from another whack from Sakura by the timely entrance of the already quite late professor.

_You haven't heard the last of this issue yet, my darling._ Her eyes glinted mischievously as she thought of the different ways to punish him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After school ended, the two of them met up with Tomoyo at the front gate, their dispute earlier that day forgotten. To their immense surprise and delight of a certain somebody, Eriol was not there to torture them. Tomoyo was frantic with worry for him and was muttering threats to disembowel him, gorge his eyes out, and then use his bones to make her bread.

The three of them walked out of school in a depressing silence broken occasionally by Tomoyo's frenzied threats as they headed for Tomoyo and Eriol's mansion for lunch as per normal. It was made even more insufferable as Sakura and Xiaolang dared not cough in order not to aggravate Tomoyo, who was nearly half-mad with worry.

Xiaolang had once remarked that even though Eriol was technically many years their elder, it was amazing how Tomoyo treats him like a five-year old child, fussing unnecessarily without thought to the fact that he actually possessed magic and was more than able to look after himself. 

Sakura smiled inwardly at the thought. Xiaolang had paid an embarrassing price when Eriol had "accidentally" fed him something that shrank him to infantile size, but with the mentality of an 18-year-old teenager, leaving him totally dependent on Sakura for everything. Luckily for him, his bond with Sakura remained intact, which allowed him to communicate with her in proper human language whenever he needed anything, which was practically every five minutes. Sakura, as a punishment for Eriol, had made him change Xiaolang's diapers whenever the latter soiled them. Eriol had not argued with Sakura, he dared not to. After all, anyone who trifles with the most powerful sorceress of all time when she is placid is bound to come away with at least some major injury, not to mention when she is angry. Xiaolang would deny it with his dying breath but Sakura knew that Xiaolang had rather enjoyed being fussed over by Sakura. He had been quite upset when the spell wore off in a day's time.

They had finally reached the mansion and Sakura, seeing how distressed Tomoyo was, gently took the keys out of her shaking hands and opened the door calmly. She had not expected to see Eriol as large as life seated in the living room sipping tea and watching television as though his disappearance the entire morning was something that occurred everyday.

All three stood in the doorway like deer caught in headlights with mouths gaping like goldfishes and each trying to gather their thoughts together to form a cohesive sentence. They were all unable to get further than, "what..."

Eriol was amused by the impact his sudden appearance had on them to render them speechless. It was such an once-in-a-lifetime moment and he heartily wished for one of Tomoyo's cameras to take a photo of their hilarious faces with mouths opening and closing without any audible sound. He broke the silence, pronouncing, " If the three of you are done gaping at me as though I have just sprouted another head and three pairs of arms and grown all hairy like an ape, lunch is quite ready in the dinning room for us to appreciate."

Tomoyo was fuming mad, how could he make her so worried over nothing? She stalked towards him, eyes blazing with fury and stopped just directly beneath his nose. He turned his sapphire eyes to focus on her and nearly gulped at all the negative feelings directed to him. Abruptly, she grabbed hold of his ear and hissed loudly into it, "You will never do such a thing and make me worry to death again. Do you hear me, Eriol Hiiragizawa? Do your marvellous disappearing act again and you may never live to see light, understood?"

Eriol could only nod meekly in response to Tomoyo's unleashed anger. Sakura and Xiaolang stood at the side and only their emotional eyes revealed the amusement they felt at seeing the great reincarnation of the all time powerful Clow Reed subdued by the immense fury of one woman. 

_ Ah well, it is just like what Rudyard Kipling said: "the female of the species is more deadly than the male._" 

Xiaolang had a hint of a smile hovering about his lips and his amber eyes twinkled with merriment. He felt a ghostly smack on the head and turned rather indignantly to face Sakura with a child-like pout _What?_ He asked in an innocent tone.

_Much too innocent, I must say,_ added Sakura dryly, _Don't try to act all cuddly with me, Li Xiaolang. You know all too well what that smack was for, and there are many more where that came from._

Xiaolang grinned in spite of all the commotion erupting around him. Tomoyo was still screaming her head off about what she would do if Eriol actually dared to make her worry like that again. To make matters worse, Nakuru had reached home from wherever she was and after noticing that an argument was ongoing, took Tomoyo's side and started admonishing Eriol. Eriol who had remained silent during his wife's outburst started shouting at Nakuru about taking sides and not helping her master, which provoked Tomoyo even more and started a whole chain reaction. Supi-chan, meanwhile, was hovering near the chandelier with huge wads of cotton wool in his oversized cat ears, one eye out for any incoming trouble for him with the other focused on an ancient-looking book with scribbles all over the front.

_Feminist, Li Xiaoying._

_Well, then you are such a male chauvinist pig. By the way, have I told you recently how cute you look when you grin? You really should do it more often._ A slightest tinge of red covered her smooth porcelain cheeks.

Xiaolang only responded by widening his roughish grin and suggesting that Sakura get all of them to sit down for lunch peacefully before they start using physical violence. She agreed to his suggestions and tried to get their attention by clearing her throat loudly.

Nothing happened.

She cleared her throat again – only this time was louder.

Still, nothing happened.

_I'm going to get a sore throat soon if they don't pay much attention to me._ She thought wryly. 

Giving up trying to attract their attention with her vocals, Sakura stalked into the kitchen angrily, grabbed a bucket full of ice from the refrigerator and promptly poured its contents all over the three of them in the living room.

Tomoyo, Eriol and Nakuru stopped their arguing and turned around to stare at Sakura in astonishment, who was staring back at them with sparks almost flying out of her eyes. In a desperate bid to better the situation, Xiaolang cleared his throat and extended a finger towards the dinning room to indicate that they should probably start lunching. The three of them gained enlightenment and with furtive glares at each other headed towards the room with Sakura and Xiaolang herding them up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had left immediately after lunch, not wanting to get caught up in domestic matters. Tomoyo had been shooting Eriol dirty looks throughout the meal and the tension had been high. Sakura and Xiaolang had gulped down the meal, having sensed that Tomoyo desperately wanted time to talk to Eriol, thanked their hosts for it, dragged Kero away from the deserts and were on their way home in just a matter of minutes.

Kero had been jubilantly munching on sweets the whole day. He had been over to play computer games with Supi the day before and had stayed overnight in a bid to break his personal record at "Angelic Layer". He had managed to get both him and Supi high on sweets and was currently snoozing soundly in Sakura's bag while she and Xiaolang sauntered home.

The both of them usually took the few minutes' walk from Tomoyo and Eriol's home to theirs to find their centre of calmness. Their hands barely touched and each was lost in their own sea of thoughts, yet they could clearly feel the presence of the other. Usually, they would lift up whatever mental shields they had erected during the course of the day to allow their thoughts to flow freely and allow the other to know about what big issues they were pondering over. However, on this day, Sakura could sense that Xiaolang was hiding something from her. His shields were down partially, only allowing her to skim the surface of his thoughts, no more. She did not press him, as it would only aggravate him. She knew that he would tell her eventually what he was pondering about. 

She turned her head to study his profile. Sakura just loved it when he was so deep in thought and intense over something, like homework or when he was practicing a new skill or spell; it served to make him glow with life. His face would hold that probing look while he fought with the problem, be it mathematics or magic.

Sakura moved closer to him and briefly caressed him on the cheek, jerking him out of his deep thoughts.

_Penny for your thoughts?_

_It's... it's nothing. I promised I would tell you later. You just have to wait._

He absently tapped her on the nose, knowing full well that patience was not one of her better virtues. Sakura realised with a start that he was looking rather weary all of a sudden. She plastered a bright smile on her face and walked home silently with him while he held her close, worry running wild through both of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. Information

Entering Eternity

Time: 12 yrs post Xiaolang's leaving according to the manga, go figure 

Disclaimer: CCS will never ever belong to me as much as I dream of it. 

Hey, sorry to all you people out there who are actually reading my ficcy... I have been having exams this past week and had to prepare for it for one whole month... Sorry for the long wait and yeah, thanks to those who had reviewed and the kind words. :D 

Thanks to JediClare for helping me beta the story, I am astounded that my English can be so lousy... 

Well, here is the next chapter. Enjoy... J

Chapter four: Information

Still rather full from the lunch at Tomoyo and Eriol's, Sakura merely gathered a few snacks to munch on before heading up to the study room where Xiaolang had already plopped himself on his usual chair. To Sakura, his total concentration seemed to be on the paper in front of him when in fact it was revolving about the intense dreams that he had been having lately.

Sakura stared at him for a moment, then dropped her gaze and turned away from him; she forced herself to focus on her work. Over the years, she had improved on her worse subjects thanks to his help. Even so, she occasionally met with difficult problems that she could not solve alone. Today, she squared off with one. Unwilling to disturb Xiaolang, or rather afraid to disturb him, she could only work it out alone to the best of her abilities.

Xiaolang had unconsciously slammed his mental shields down to ponder over the dreams. He stared blankly at the piece of paper in front of him, frustration building up at the feeling that he was doing something wrong. But what was he doing wrong? If he did not know, how could he correct the mistake? And the dreams – cold, nasty nightmares that tortured his soul for days and nights. For what he dreamt about was usually his father's untimely death and his arriving too late to save him. What was the meaning behind all that? Why did his brain suddenly come up with his father's death? Was it to torture him, to make him feel guilty? Well, if it was, it was working rather well. Xiaolang felt endless guilt at his inability to save his father, the man that mattered most to him. 

Almost on the verge of blowing up or breaking down, he was close to tearing his hair out. Calming himself down once he had gotten hold of his emotions, he glanced over his shoulder at Sakura who was still struggling with the problem. Her head of brown locks, just a shade lighter than his own unruly mane, was bent in concentration; she was tapping her pencil lightly to her forehead as though the action would help her understand the problem a little more. Her brow was creased with lines of mild frustration, partly because of Xiaolang, partly because of the question.

As Xiaolang watched her, the expression of immense concentration lifted and changed into a flash of understanding and soon became jubilant at having solved the problem all by herself. He could feel her pride and joy at having tackled the problem without his help. Xiaolang felt a little sad; she would not need his help in the future with these problems. She was growing so independent and would not always need to lean on him for support. He turned slightly away from her and stared at the clock.

_5 p.m. - just enough time. _

He stood up and stretched like a cat. He had lifted up his shields after realizing it had been down and wondered briefly why Sakura had not said anything about it. He strolled over to her and draped his arms around her lightly. Sakura looked up in surprise at his actions. Had he not been acting all distant and cold a few hours ago? She had had enough time while studying to get sufficiently angry with him for not trusting and confiding in her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, unwilling to soften her heart until he confided in her. 

Sensing her tenseness, Xiaolang slowly massaged her shoulders and brought his mouth down close to her ear. It was close enough for Sakura to be able to hear his steady breathing and feel his breath tickling her neck. He murmured softly, "Study time's over. Throw those books to one side and let's get into today's workout. After that, we can have a warm relaxing bath and dinner will be served. I promised that I will tell you what is wrong and you have to hold me to my promise. I will tell you after we have both calmed down. You are still angry at me, aren't you?"

Xiaolang could not for the life of him guess what she was angry with him for but he could feel the hostility radiating off her. He straightened up and pulled her out of the chair. Knowing that it would do him no good to drag her or to carry her to their room to change into their training clothes, he used the only other method that seemed feasible – tessering. Looking at her unsmiling face with impatience etched on it, Xiaolang tessered almost immediately, shocking her out of her vow of silence.

With the tingling feeling running deep in their bodies, they materialized slowly, part by part, first the heads, then the arms and so on until the whole of both their bodies were standing in the bedroom. As soon as she gained control of her limbs, an irate Sakura rounded on Xiaolang and grabbed his collar. Seething with fury, she hissed harshly through gritted teeth, "Do. Not. Ever. Do. That. Again. Without. Warning. Me. Stop. Wasting. Your. Energy. Unnecessarily."

Rather pleased that she had finally opened her mouth and spoken to him, Xiaolang merely smiled mysteriously at her, which irritated Sakura even more. She turned away from him and stalked huffily over to the closet to grab her training clothes. She carefully maneuvered around the grinning idiot in the center of the room to head to the bathroom.

Knowing that Sakura would take her own sweet time to change, Xiaolang changed in the privacy of his room. He just loved it when she flew into one of her tantrums – it just made life more interesting. Sakura's face would flush with anger, her aura would flare up dangerously and her eyes would gleam with fury, turning to a dark shade of green much like the forests – wild and dangerous.

He stood outside the door, futilely waiting for a few minutes then cautiously knocking on the door a few times before he testily shouted to her, "Sakura, if you are not going to open the door now, I will be forced to tesser in or even break it down. Why don't you just give up quietly and come out of the room peacefully?"

Having had much experience from past incidents, Sakura knew that he could and would carry out either of his threats depending on the seriousness of the situation. Not wanting him to waste his energy again or to have the unpleasant job of calling a carpenter in again to fix the damn door - she was certain that all the carpenters in town knew them by name - Sakura reluctantly unlocked the door and shuffled out with a sulky, defiant look pasted on her face. Xiaolang smiled even more widely. He recognized the defiance and was pleased about it. He did want a good workout this evening; the sparring would do wonders for them and help purge all violent thoughts after it so they would be able to have a peaceful meal.

Noticing the smile and mistaking it for a smirk of challenge, Sakura straightened up and lifted her head up high. She was not going to lose to him and give him the satisfaction of winning. She marched determinedly past him and went down the stairs to their personal state-of-art gym, stocked with all the latest technologies in the sporting world and a very large multi-purpose hall that catered to their many various competence in sports.

She moved directly to the middle of the hall and was soon deep in mediation to find her center of calmness and peace. When Xiaolang finally sauntered in, he nearly lost himself at the sight of her with her head partially bowed, her golden-auburn hair tied neatly to the back of her head with the exception of a few unruly wisps lying haphazardly around her porcelain face. Even after so many years with her, her beauty could still move him. Even though her eyes were closed to stretch out her other senses, Sakura could see whatever was happening in the room through her mind's eye. Her nostrils flaring slightly and her back convent school straight, her muscles tensed like a spring, ready to be used in action anytime, she radiated of determination and defiance.

Xiaolang walked calmly towards her and with their backs to each other, started to meditate along with her. Their auras flashed brightly and danced wildly around them in a myriad of colours reflecting their moods. A strong gust of wind kicked up out of nowhere and surrounded them, making their clothes flap wildly about their frames and their hair fall over their eyes.

Neither of them flinched or moved a muscle. Being deep in meditation meant that they had found a pool of calmness and peace within them that would help guide their movements, their thoughts and their magic throughout the fight.

Simultaneously, their eyes flickered wide open with matching glints showing, they started on their kata to warm up for the fight. They moved in harmony with perfectly synchronized steps, dancing to a music that only both could hear. The mixture of auras continued its joyful dance around the couple guiding their movements to be executed at the exact same timing as the other. The slick, fluid movements of their limbs reflected on their strenuous trainings at the beginning to harness and control their seemingly endless flow of magic and to build up the strong rapport that they shared with each other.

Being too entirely focused on executing the kata to perfection, Xiaolang did not notice that Sakura had made the first move of their match and had stopped mid-way through the kata to focus her energy on a Sakura card. 

Sakura silently gave her order to the Windy card to form a chain around Xiaolang and bind him there. Over the years, the rapport between the master and the cards had grown to be much stronger and much closer then the bond the cards had shared with Clow. Sakura was now able to communicate with the cards through her thoughts and vice versa.

Too deep in concentration to notice the wind silently enveloping him, Xiaolang's reaction to the attack was seconds too slow. Windy had successfully restricted much of his movement before he managed to whip out his sword and break free. Facing Sakura, he taunted her, "You are going to have to do better than that to get me."

The taunt had hit its mark; Sakura growled, her eyes narrowing to thin silts in her face. Her temper had been roused and nothing would get in her way. Her menacing look dissolved suddenly into slyness. She whipped out a few well-selected cards and released them all at the same time.

Firey, Watery, Windy and Earthy joined together in combat in a whirlwind of colours to attack Xiaolang. Timing her dash forward precisely, Sakura herself had joined in the battle and attacked Xiaolang physically with a combination of moves he had never seen before. It was obvious that Sakura had been doing some secret training by herself. With no reaction time, all that Xiaolang could do was to stand there and be assaulted by the rapid attacks both physical and magical. He flew across the room from the impact and slammed heavily into the wall. Seemingly knocked out cold, he lay motionless on the floor, a steady stream of blood flowing out of his mouth. As the dust settled down all around him, Sakura realized the full impact of her attack. She had assumed that Xiaolang was strong enough to withstand the attack and at most escape with a few bruises. She had not expected him to be so weak as to not be able to protect himself from the attack. Caught up in her emotions, she darted forward, abandoning all her weapons to check on the motionless man. 

Failing to notice that their bond was still open and fully operative, meaning that Xiaolang was conscious, Sakura received the shock of her life when he suddenly opened his clear amber eyes in response to her probing for any serious injuries. He lightly took hold of her trembling hands and smiled gently up at her, touched by her care and concern. His eyes never failing to leave her face, Xiaolang slowly brought her tender palms up to his lips.

Hot blood coursed through the veins closest to the base of her palm where Xiaolang had caressed it with his lips. Sakura's eyes softened noticeably then hardened again. The pressure of not knowing what was bothering him finally caught up with her. She released her fury by pulling her hands harshly out of his hold and pounded on him ruthlessly, berating him for his "wrongdoings". Xiaolang bore it all with the placid patience of a donkey and when she had worn herself out, he pulled her close to him in an intimate embrace, close enough for Sakura to feel the steady thumping of his heart and his warm breath blowing steadily on her neck.

The both of them stayed locked in that position until Xiaolang had confirmed that Sakura had finally calmed down. He thought to her gently, _Are you ready for my explanation? _

Drawing her face away, she silently nodded. He was finally willing to trust in her and share his troubles with her.

Xiaolang slowly let her go and stood up. Taking her by her hands, he led her towards a chair and motioned for her to sit down. He paced the interior of the room, desperately trying to gather his jumbled thoughts to form words that would make sense to Sakura.

Sensing his confusion and frustration, Sakura thought gently to him. 

Calm yourself down. Let your inner self go. Meditate and open your bond fully, let me search through them for the information I need to know. 

He stopped his pacing to stand in the middle of the room. He held his hands slack at his side while mediating to allow her full access into his mind. He could sense her thoughts gently probing his mind to gather the information she wanted. It felt strange to allow her full access to his thoughts. What if she stumbled upon something that he did not want her to know? Like that joke Eriol and him played on the girls back in grade 6? They had not known whom it was that had poured gallons of honey into their lockers and he felt that they would be particularly happy to find out now that it had been the both of them.

_ What's this about the locker incident Xiaolang? Her voice was sweet, too sweet, which meant that he was in trouble._

_ Shit. Busted. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Candles that flickered seductively around her dimly lighted the bathroom. Sakura lay in the bath, trying to relax while the round moon shone in through her window to illuminate her hair. Her mind was racing with the information divulged from Xiaolang.

His dreams. His visions. What did they mean? It was obvious that his father was trying to reach out to him but for what and why? Sakura knew that dreams and visions were usually made up of many layers and that she needed to delve deeper in order to truly understand the essence of the dreams. Yet how was she supposed to understand it when she did not even know what the dream was truly like? In order to really understand the dream, Sakura felt that she had to go through the entire dream herself.

_Blackness - vast gulf of blackness that swallowed everything. A thin ray of light shone from above, forming a path for Li Weilong to descend, ghostly white and shimmering, wearing his traditional Clan costume. Wherever he walked, a spray of Nadeshiko flowers and Sakura flowers would fly up then settle down calmly. He would stay silent, not saying anything and just pace around, looking with the proud eyes of a father and a Clan leader. Yet somehow they encompassed sadness beyond belief that Li Weilong could have felt. Suddenly, out of nowhere a bright ball of blue sparkling flames would appear between them. It would glow a pale blue first, then white, then figures would form slowly on its surface. It would show figures and play voices of a past a long, long time ago. It was always the same past, the same story – Weilong's death over and over again…_

Sakura was half asleep in the bath, thinking about the dreams when she heard the knock on the door. Realising that she was turning into a prune, she hastily got out of the bathtub, succeeding in flooding the floor in the process of doing so, and reached for her towel.

_ Are you safe in there? You haven't drowned yet right? Well hurry up and come down before dinner turns cold. _

_ I'm fine, very fine. Keep your shirt on. I'm coming down soon enough. _

Fully dressed, Sakura sauntered down the stairs to join Xiaolang for dinner. As she passed the living room, the phone started to ring, startling her out of her reverie. 

"Good evening, Li residence. May I know who is this speaking?"

"Hello Sakura-Chan, it's me, dad. I just wanted to know if the both of you were free for dinner tomorrow."

"Hi dad! Sure we are free. But why the sudden urge for us to join you for dinner? Will Oniichan be there too?"

"Oh, I just felt like having dinner with the two of you. Touya will not be coming. Well then, I shall not bother the both of you anymore. Have a good night and I will see you tomorrow night. Bye Sakura-Chan."

"Bye dad, see you tomorrow."

Not wanting to press the matter anymore, Sakura unwillingly set the phone back on its cradle. What was with people keeping secrets from her anyway? She was not so fragile that a single piece of news would stun her and shake her entire world. Sighing heavily, she thought that at least Xiaolang had opened up.

_ Erm, Sakura darling? The dinning room is this way. That is the door to the basement you are holding on to. Are you all right? _

Sakura glanced down at the door knob she was holding onto then looked up to survey her surroundings. She realized that Xiaolang was right – she was going to the basement instead of the dinning room. Blushing deeply, she turned around and giggled in embarrassment.

_ Oops. Xiaolang, dad just called. He wants us to join him for dinner tomorrow. You are free right? _

_ I should be able to make it. But let's think of dinner tonight before dinner tomorrow. This way, mi'lady. _

Sticking her tongue out at him while she walked past, she noted that even though his tone of voice was strong and lively, his eyes betrayed him. They were dull and clouded with troubled thoughts – he was still mulling over the dreams.

Dinner that night was a quiet affair, lacking the usual rowdy conversations and jokes they shared every night. Even their bond was silent, not much interaction took place between them. Both were trying to figure out the meaning of the dreams.

Finally they went up to bed with many unanswered questions still pounding furiously at their minds. They had decided to sleep on the matter and hope that the dreams would not appear that night. Yet deep down Xiaolang had a burning desire to see his father's face again. Even though the visions were vague and heart wrenching, he still longed to be able to look upon his father's face again.

That night, the dreams not only presented themselves to Xiaolang; they too took hold of Sakura.

_Blackness everywhere._

_A ray of light descends from nowhere._

_Nadeshiko and Weilong materialise together. With outstretched hands and pleading eyes, they communicate their emotions to their children._

_Then like a malfunctioning video, the scenes of their deaths replay over and over again. Weilong and Nadeshiko dying in front of their eyes and the both of them helpless to save their parents. _

Xiaolang and Sakura spent the whole night tossing and turning fretfully in bed.


End file.
